Hindu minor girl raped by Muslim shopkeeper after being lured into his shop

Case Summary
On the evening of December 7 2024, in a village under Nonahra police station in Ghazipur, a 52-year-old man, Shabbir Ahmed, raped, assaulted, and attempted to murder a 13-year-old Hindu girl studying in Class 6. The accused, who owns a medical and utensils shop, lured the girl into his shop, closed the shutters, tied her hands and feet, gagged her, and hid her on the shop's railing. Upon suspicion, villagers alerted the girl's family, leading to a crowd of 500 people surrounding the shop. Police from multiple stations intervened, broke open the shop's lock, rescued the girl, and arrested the accused. A scuffle occurred between the police and the angry crowd. The victim narrated the ordeal, and a case was registered under the POCSO Act, rape, attempted murder, and other charges. The accused was sent to jail after a court hearing, and the girl underwent a medical examination. Tension persisted in the village as the case involved two communities. Police forces were deployed to maintain order, with marches conducted to deter unrest. Villagers said the accused had committed similar acts before, though no prior cases were officially registered.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
In this case, there is a strong suspicion that the Muslim perpetrator was targeting Hindu minors as a pattern and therefore, was selected his victims on the basis of their religious identity. From the available information, there is an allegation that the perpetrator had molested minor girls twice before, however, the case was settled in the panchayat and no FIR was filed against the accused. Further, the police has also mentioned that the accused has no remorse for his actions. These are strong indications that the crime could have been religiously motivated and the victims were being targeted owing to religious hostility. However, from the details of the case, one cannot conclusively say that only Hindu girls were being targeted. There is no explicit statement mentioning that by the local villagers, eventhough such indications are present. For that reason, this case is being added to the undecided database. If more information emerges, it will be added to the hate crime database.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 1
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 1
Age Group
- Minor 1
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0

Case Status
Arrested

Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male